


Family Worries.

by birds_in_winter



Category: Spider-Man (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Supportive Aunt May, only mentions of the "major character death"
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-04-01 10:53:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13996743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/birds_in_winter/pseuds/birds_in_winter
Summary: Peter is left guilt-ridden after the accident at Midtown High School, and a worried Aunt May tries her best to comfort him despite his silence.





	Family Worries.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic takes place the night of the episode "The Rise of Doc Ock: Part 4" because I like imagining behind-the-scenes interactions between characters and Aunt May is so sweet.

Peter glanced at his phone, sighing as he read the time, 11PM. He was tired and wanted nothing more to go to bed, feeling guilty about what had happened tonight.  
  
Swinging back home, all he could think about was everything that had led to the death of Norman Osborn and the explosion at Midtown. Just the other day Harry had been furious at him and despite that, Peter simply believed Harry’s feigned forgiveness as soon as it came. He believed it for too long and now Norman was gone. As much as Peter knew he was weak to Harry’s happiness, he was also rendered paralyzed by his screams of pain and anger. He had never seen Harry channel his anger through violence before and it made a chill run down his spine. He could be forgiven as Peter Parker, but as Spider-Man? Never.  
  
The guilt was unbearable, but what made it worse was Peter’s habit of internal monologuing that kept him from thinking of anything else aside from what he could have done to change tonight's outcome. Could he have saved Norman? Probably not, but his mind would try its hardest to find some way he could have increased the odds, making countless numbers with no real meaning race through his head. As much as he tried to be an optimist, there were too many inescapable thoughts that kept his mind far away from anything good.  
  
In what seemed like no time at all, he found himself in the back alley of his house. Pulling open his window, he slid in and shrugged off his costume, pulling on his shirt and throwing his sweater onto his overfilled hamper. His face was covered in soot and he could see the makings of a black eye. He knew that turning on the sink would alert Aunt May he was home, so he did as much as he could before doing so. When it came time to give up rubbing his face with a dry towel, he began to wash his face.  
  
Soon enough, he heard her familiar knock.  
  
“Peter?”  
  
He sighed and looked at himself once more in the mirror, trying to paint on his signature Parker grin to avoid raising concern in her. He opened the door and saw his smile reciprocated, albeit faint.  
  
“When did you come in? I didn’t hear you until now,” she said, clutching a hand to her chest.  
  
“A few minutes ago” he laughed lightly, hoping that was a good enough answer.  
  
Her face went through several conflicting emotions before she spoke.  
  
“Peter, I was so worried,” she forced out.  
  
Aunt May was the type to worry in private, trying to never show as much concern as she probably should. After Uncle Ben’s death, she took up the habit of walking Peter to school whenever she could, only stopping after Peter promised her he would meet up with Harry so she didn’t have to tire herself out by walking the several blocks to Horizon to ensure his safety. Frankly, Peter understood her worries, given the increasing frequency of attacks on the three high schools of Midtown, Horizon, and Osborn Academy, but for her to express her concern so blatantly, meant she was truly concerned.  
  
He opened his arms and she embraced him, holding the back of his head with her hand. His eyes began to water, his heart aching terribly. He felt so bad about making her worry. They stood like that for a moment before he heard her sniff.  
  
“Peter… you smell like smoke,” she said pulling apart from him. Her green eyes scanned him before noticing his bruised eye. “And you’re bruised.”  
  
The small optimism that remained in his head wondered if he could worry her less by lying and saying he had been smoking. But he knew that it was very likely that he smelled nothing like nicotine, formaldehyde, and all those other chemicals. He was still thinking about how to make a good excuse when Aunt May spoke again.  
  
“Peter, you know you can tell me anything right?… That I’d much rather you be honest with me, than tell me a lie to make me feel better... Even if it’s something you think I wouldn’t want to hear?”  
  
Peter nodded, feeling his lips beginning to quiver. Aunt May's face softened at Peter's break in composure, knowing how rare and difficult it was for Peter to express his sadness to her.  
  
“Oh Peter, come here,” she said welcoming him into another hug. He accepted it tearfully, sobbing into her shirt.  
  
He wanted to tell her everything so badly like he used to. He wanted to tell her he was Spider-Man so she could give him encouragement and make little quips about it like she did when he told her about his crushes. He wanted her to know why Harry hadn’t visited lately, and he wanted her to know why so many bad things were happening. He just wanted to be completely open with her again.  
  
“I-” He began to hyperventilate, trying so hard to form words without stuttering badly. She kept patting his back and it felt just like the time he heard the news about Uncle Ben. He was late in coming home that day too. He was always late. Whether it was just school or as important as stopping a villain, it seemed he was always too late.  
  
“I’m so sorry Aunt May” he said when he finally could breathe again.  
  
“I worry about you so much… not just about if you’re safe, but I worry because I want to know if you’re happy and everything’s alright… I want you to know that you can talk to me Peter” her voice began to break. "About anything."  
  
He nodded.  
  
“We’re family” she stated firmly. “And family worries for one another.”  
  
He nodded, his eyes stinging from the dry air.  
  
“We’re family”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! 
> 
> (I'm currently working on a longer fic, but wanted to practice formatting a bit before even thinking about sharing it, as I'm new to this platform and fanfic writing in general...)
> 
> Anyways, have a great day!


End file.
